Secret Meetings
by surrexi
Summary: Liz's parents have forbidden her to see Max, but nothing can keep her away. (No S3 beyond Busted except Isabel Jesse being married .) COMPLETE!!!
1. Erasers and Flashes

Max-  
  
I know my parents told me to stay away from you, but I need to see you. Meet me in the Eraser Room at lunch. Make sure no one sees you, my dad actually told the teachers to report to him if they saw us together. I love you.  
  
Liz  
  
Max sat in his government class, reading and rereading Liz's note. It had been in his locker that morning when he went to get his books. Liz had been nowhere in sight. Max had looked.  
  
Now he sat in class, staring at Liz's handwriting. He even loved that. He hadn't been able to concentrate on any of his classes that morning. All he'd done was read the note. Especially the last sentence.  
  
I love you.  
  
Max knew it was true, but every time he heard it, he still felt amazed. Especially after everything that had come between them. From his birth mother's misguided attempt at writing Max's destiny, to Tess, to getting arrested, she still loved him. Max hung his head. He knew he didn't deserve Liz, but he was sure as hell glad she loved him anyway.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Max glanced around the nearly empty hallway. Most of the students were either in class or in the cafeteria. When the nearest hall monitor's head was turned, Max slipped into the Eraser Room.  
  
"Max!" Liz launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. "Oh my God, Max, I am so happy to see you! I miss you so much!"  
  
"God, I miss you too, Liz!"  
  
Liz tilted her face up to kiss Max. She loved kissing him. She thought he was the best kisser in the universe.  
  
Max couldn't believe they were together. He'd seen the dirty looks Liz's father had been directing his way while he escorted Liz out of jail, and he had begun losing hope when Mr Parker told him about the boarding school. But now he was there in the Eraser Room with Liz, their mouths fused together in the longest, sweetest kiss they'd ever shared. Max began to see flashes of Liz.  
  
*flash* Liz weeping because she couldn't see Max  
  
*flash* Liz writing him the note and giving it to Maria to put in his locker  
  
*flash* Liz waiting impatiently for him in the Eraser Room, thinking about the last time they'd been there and he'd told her she should be allowed to grow.  
  
Suddenly Liz broke the kiss with a look of outrage.  
  
"Liz?" Max voice was worried. "Liz, what's wrong?"  
  
"Boarding school? My father threatened to send me to boarding school?" Liz fought to keep her voice down. "He threatened you! He…I can't believe him!"  
  
"Liz, shh…it's all right, I'm here with you anyway." Max soothed, realizing she must have seen a flash of Mr Parker chewing him out after their midnight hangliding outing.  
  
"No, Max. It is not all right. Boarding school! Like boarding school would make me fall out of love with you. Like me being sent away would make you fall out of love with me. I couldn't even do that when I tried!" Max held back a wince at the reference to the Future Max fiasco that Liz had explained to him the night after Tess left.  
  
"Liz, shh! If someone finds us in here…"  
  
"I know. Boarding school."  
  
Max's heart broke to see the seething fury in Liz's eyes. He didn't want to be the wedge that drove Liz and her parents apart. He reached out and softly touched Liz's cheek.  
  
"Liz…I don't want to come between you and your family."  
  
Liz interrupted him sharply.  
  
"Max, you wouldn't accept it when I said that I couldn't come between you and your destiny. I won't accept you feeling guilty for coming between me and my family. They have no right to keep us apart like this."  
  
"Liz…I don't deserve you."  
  
Liz kissed Max tenderly on the forehead then on the lips.  
  
"And I don't deserve you, but we have each other anyway." Liz breathed the words with her lips a heartbeat away from Max's. Then she kissed him again.  
  
Their passionate kiss was rudely interrupted a few moments later by the harsh ringing of the bell, signalling the end of their lunch period. They regretfully parted and left the Eraser Room, headed in opposite directions.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Look, Liz. You need to calm down." Maria grabbed Liz's hand as she paced past where Maria was sitting on her bed and pulled her down.  
  
"Calm down? Calm down? You expect me to calm down when my parents are ready to ship me off to some all-girls boarding school in Vermont if Max so much as looks in the windows of the Crashdown! I'd like to see you calm down if your mother forbid you to see Michael!" Liz tried to get up off Maria's bed, but Maria grabbed her shoulders.  
  
"Liz, you can't even be sure that your dad really would send you away."  
  
"Maria, I saw him chewing out Max!"  
  
"In a flash while you were making out. Maybe you made a mountain out of a molehill."  
  
"Just because I was making out at the time doesn't mean that I couldn't tell what was going on in the flash. I was able to lead Max straight to that communicator thingy that I got a flash of being buried." Maria looked at Liz thoughtfully.  
  
"That's true…"  
  
"Anyway, Maria, you have to help me see Max!"  
  
"But Liz, if your parents find out…"  
  
"I know, boarding school. But Maria, it's Max. I love him. We spent most of the past year apart because of some murdering alien hussy. I'm not going to let my parents keep us apart for the next year!"  
  
"Okay, I know that, and I respect that. But Liz, maybe you should wait a little bit. Maybe after a month or so, your parents will loosen up if you aren't trying to break the rules all the time!"  
  
"Maria, whose side are you on?"  
  
"Yours, Liz. I'm just trying to keep you in Roswell so it's possible for you to secretly meet with Max."  
  
"Maria, with yours and Michael's help, we can meet without anyone finding out. I will still be in Roswell, my parents will think I'm following the rules, and I'll get to see Max on a regular basis."  
  
Maria was silent for a moment, obviously weighing the pros and cons.  
  
"Okay, Liz. I'll help you, and I'm sure Michael will too."  
  
"Thank you so much, Maria! You are the best friend ever!"  
  
"I know. Now here's the plan…"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Michael and Max were sitting in companionable silence in Michael's apartment. Max was working on some history homework, and Michael was working on a lab report for biology. When a knock on his door sounded, Michael was out of his seat and halfway to the door before Max had even pushed away from the table.  
  
"Alleluia, a distraction!" Michael pulled open the door. Maria and Liz stood there.  
  
"Well don't just stand there looking like an idiot, Spaceboy! It would not exactly be good for Liz to be seen here. After all Max is living here right now as well!" Maria slipped around Michael as she spoke, pulling Liz in after her. Michael shut the door behind them.  
  
"Liz!" Max was out of his chair faster than Michael, and pulled Liz into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. He buried his face in her hair and breathed in the scent of her perfume and shampoo. They stood there, completely wrapped up in holding each other, not paying attention to Michael and Maria at all.  
  
Michael was looking confusedly at Maria.  
  
"I thought we were going to stay out of this, Maria."  
  
"Michael, this is Liz and Max. We can't just stand by and watch while her father tears them apart! She's my best friend and he's practically your brother!"  
  
"I know." Michael pulled Maria against his side, and they watched Liz and Max just standing there holding each other for a few moments. Then Maria got down to business.  
  
"Okay you two. This is the plan. Liz, my mom and your parents think you and I are at the movies. Michael's friends think he and I are at the movies, so you don't need to answer the phone here at all. Max, you're parents haven't been calling you anyway, right?"  
  
"Uh, yeah Maria. They haven't. Izzy does occasionally, but she's…preoccupied with Jesse these days."  
  
"Okay, good. So don't answer the phone. Liz, if your mom or dad calls the cell phone, after 10:45ish tell them we went out to the desert for girl talk after the movie and you'll be in soon. Then give me a call and I'll come take you home. Otherwise, Michael and I should be home by 11 and I'll take you home then."  
  
"Okay, Maria. Thank you."  
  
"No problem, Liz. Michael, lets leave the lovebirds alone now, eh?"  
  
"Uh, yeah. There goes my bio report."  
  
"It's for a good cause. Now move it!"  
  
Maria hurried Michael out the door, leaving Max and Liz alone. They continued to stand as they had before for a few minutes. Then Max spoke.  
  
"God, Liz, I needed to see you. You always know when I need to see you."  
  
"Max, I miss you so much. I just saw you today but I miss you."  
  
"Today was ten minutes in the Eraser Room. Last week we had a grand total of three hours alone together, and that was in bits and snatches of time. It's okay to miss me."  
  
"I love you, Max. Why do we have to live like this? Why can't my parents see?"  
  
"Because I am dangerous, Liz. You know I am. And I did talk you into using the gun. I am everything they say I am, but worse because they don't know the truth."  
  
"No, Max. You are better than all of the things they say about you. You are the best of us, Max." Max looked deeply into Liz's eyes. He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs and wound his fingers through her hair the way he liked best.  
  
"No, Liz. You are the best of us. Without you I would be nothing." Liz stretched upwards to place a kiss on Max's lips.  
  
"You know, Max, it occurs to me that we have hours alone in this apartment and we are doing nothing but standing here talking." She pressed her body closer to his.  
  
"The thought occurs to me as well." Liz kissed Max again, deeper and longer this time.  
  
"Well then, we'll have to, uh, figure out a better way to use up the time." Max grinned rakishly down at Liz.  
  
"I believe I can think of something," he assured her.  
  
Max bent down and covered Liz's mouth with his own. She twined her arms around his neck and took the kiss deeper. Max ran his hands down Liz's sides, caressing her hips. Then he moved his hands under her shirt, one hand skimming up and down her back, the other resting over the spot where he had healed her so long ago. Liz tugged at Max's sweater. He pulled it over his head and tossed it over the back of a chair. Liz ran her hands over Max's chest and down his arms, loving the feel of his skin and muscles under her hands. She pulled out of Max's embrace and pulled her own shirt off, dropping it carelessly on top of his sweater.  
  
"Liz…are you sure?"  
  
"Max. I love you. I want to be with you."  
  
Liz stepped back into Max's arms and plastered her mouth to his.  
  
"Okay," Max managed between heated kisses. He backed her slowly towards the couch and lowered her down. 


	2. Love and Marriage...

The weeks and months flew by. Liz's parents were unrelenting with their rules, despite the appearance that Liz was obeying them. Liz and Max continued to meet periodically at Michael's apartment or out in the desert. They refused to stop, even with the occasional close call when Liz's mother or father would call her cell phone at inopportune moments or Mrs. DeLuca would show up at Michael's thinking he and Maria were there instead of at a movie.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Max-  
  
Eraser Room. Lunch. I need to talk to you. Be careful, but don't worry too much cuz the teachers are getting lax, they think we've broken up. Anyway, come at lunch. I love you.  
  
Liz  
  
Max strolled nonchalantly down the hallway just as his lunch period began. The hallways were still crowded with people heading to class or to lunch. With a quick look around to see if any teachers were watching, he slipped into the Eraser Room.  
  
"Hey, Max."  
  
"Hey, Liz."  
  
They slid into each other's arms and kissed with the ease of long-time lovers despite only have that status for a few months. They were soulmates; it was natural for them. Breaking the kiss, Liz sat on the floor. Max sat next to her, their fingers linked.  
  
"So, Liz. You said you needed to talk to me?" Liz nodded.  
  
"My birthday's tomorrow."  
  
"Don't worry, I remembered." Max smiled warmly.  
  
"I figured you did, that's not my point. My point is I'll be eighteen. And school lets out soon. We'll have graduated, Max, and will be on our own, or at least allowed to go off on our own."  
  
"Yes…" Max said cautiously, knowing what Liz was about to suggest and not sure how to react.  
  
"We're meant to be together, Max. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know you want the same. We should make it happen. You're getting your own apartment tomorrow. I'm turning eighteen tomorrow. Day after tomorrow…anything goes."  
  
"Liz…when we got arrested you told me you weren't ready to give up your family to save yourself from prosecution. If you move in with me, you would be giving up your family, at least until they got used to the idea, which could be never." Max gently stroked Liz's cheek. "I couldn't ask that of you."  
  
"I'm asking it of me, Max. I told you I wasn't ready a long time ago. Every couple of weeks, my father reminds me that I still can't see you and the rules won't change just because of good behavior. If that's what my family gives to me, I like what you give me more."  
  
"Liz, are you sure? You have to be sure. There's no going back after a step like that."  
  
"I'm sure, Max. I love you, and I want to be with you. It will be possible day after tomorrow, so that's when I want to take the plunge."  
  
"God, Liz, what did I ever do to deserve you?"  
  
"You saved my life, Max. In every possible way, you saved my life. You loved me, Max. In every possible way, you loved me. You believed in me when you had no reason to, you trusted me when you had no cause to, and you stayed with me when it would have been easier not to. That's what you did to deserve me, Max. More than I could ever do to deserve you."  
  
"I may have saved your life that day in the Crashdown, but saving you saved my life, too, Liz. Without you, so many things would have been different, and I would have had less of a reason for surviving them."  
  
The sound of the bell ringing interrupted their conversation. Liz glanced at the door.  
  
"Check your locker after school, Max. I have to get to class. I love you."  
  
With a quick kiss, Liz slipped out of the Eraser Room. Max followed a minute later and hurried to class.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Max-  
  
Okay, here's the plan. I don't think we should try to see each other tomorrow. My parents have got all kinds of plans for me. Since tomorrow is my Friday off for the month, they gave me Saturday off as a birthday gift. I'll pack in the morning. At ten-thirty, I'll come down into the Crashdown with my stuff. You come in when you see me. Take my bags from me and we'll head out to the car. Dad'll have seen us and will follow. I don't what I'll say, but I'll say something and then we'll go to your apartment. I love you.  
  
Till Saturday, Liz  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Max sat in his car across the street from the Crashdown. His gaze was focused on the interior of the restaurant even though he knew Liz wouldn't be down for another five minutes. Her dad was serving a table full of customers, and Maria was glancing out at Max's car every ten seconds. Max took a deep breath. He worried constantly over Liz and how what they were about to do would affect her and her family. He knew it wouldn't be good and it wouldn't be pretty. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and touched the small velvet box inside. He and Liz hadn't discussed marriage, but Max wanted it, and he thought it might help things smooth out more quickly if her parents knew they were getting married.  
  
Max's watch alarm beeped, announcing that ten-thirty had rolled around. Maria glanced at Max's car one more time, giving a slight nod. Max got out of the car and began walking toward the café. He opened the door and slipped in just as Liz came through back doors into the restaurant. They met in the middle, and Max grabbed the suitcases from Liz's hands and they turned to walk out.  
  
Mr. Parker came out of the kitchen just as they walked out the door. Seeing Liz leaving with Max, he froze and dropped the tray he was holding.  
  
"Evans! What the hell are you doing with my daughter? Liz!"  
  
Max and Liz continued out the door without turning around, although Max's shoulders stiffened visibly. Mr. Parker ran out after them. He caught up with them as Max tossed the suitcases into the back of his car.  
  
"What the hell is going on here, Evans? I told you to stay away from my daughter!"  
  
"Dad…" Liz began.  
  
"No, Liz," Max interrupted. "I have something to say to your father."  
  
"Evans…" Mr. Parker said warningly.  
  
"Hear me out, Mr. Parker. I love your daughter. She is the light of my life; she completes my soul. Without her, I'm nothing. I love her, and I am going to marry her." Max pulled the box out of his pocket and took out the ring, slipping it on Liz's finger without a word. She gazed at it with a look of shock mixed with joy on her face. Mr. Parker gaped.  
  
"Mr. Parker," Max continued, "I know you don't like me; I know you don't trust me. I know you don't respect me. But I respect you, and I love your daughter. We love each other, and we want to be together. We're getting married. I have my own apartment now, and I have a well-paying job. I'll stand by Liz till the end. I'm sorry this couldn't have happened differently, but since this is how the cards fell…this is how it has to be."  
  
Mr. Parker stared at them in open-mouthed shock. Liz, who had recovered from the shock of Max slipping a beautiful ring on her finger, jumped into the car.  
  
"Max, come on! I've got unpacking to do!"  
  
Max backed towards the driver's side door.  
  
"I'm sorry Mr. Parker. I'll take good care of her. I hope we can see you soon." With those words, Max slid into the driver's seat and started the car.  
  
"Goodbye, Daddy! I love you!" Liz yelled as Max pulled away from the curb and drove down the street.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Max got out of the shower and wrapped a towel loosely around his waist. Smiling broadly, he walked soundlessly into the bedroom, where Liz still lay asleep in their bed. Dressing quickly and quietly, he watched Liz sleep. She was beautiful when she slept. The faintest hint of a smile graced her face, and there were no worry lines crossing it. She stirred a little when Max sat down on the bed to pull on his shoes, but she didn't wake up until Max shook her gently awake.  
  
"Liz, honey, you should wake up now."  
  
Liz's eyes fluttered open sleepily.  
  
"Max? Hey, Max."  
  
"Hey, Liz. Wake up," he said, kissing her softly. "We've got a wedding to plan."  
  
"Oh!" Liz let out a happy laugh and held up her hand, admiring the small diamond Max had bought her. "We just got engaged and now we're planning the wedding already? You're certainly moving fast all of the sudden!" Liz teased.  
  
"I can move fast enough when it matters." Max smiled rakishly. "But right now, you need to move fast to the shower and the closet so you can be clean and dressed while we plan our wedding!"  
  
Liz jumped out of bed and dashed into the bathroom. A few minutes later she came out again wrapped in a towel and carrying her nightgown. She smiled at the sound of Max humming a fast tune and sniffed appreciatively at the smell of bacon and eggs. Dressing quickly, she hung up the towel and put away her nightgown before hurrying out to the kitchen.  
  
"Okay, Max. This wedding you were speaking of…" Liz trailed off as Max set a steaming plate of bacon, eggs, and pancakes down in front of her. "Thanks…I didn't know you cooked."  
  
"You're welcome, this and grilled cheese sandwiches are about the extent of my cooking prowess."  
  
"Good enough for me. We can get by on Hamburger Helper and macaroni and cheese until one or both of us learns to cook anything better. Now, then, as I was saying before I was interrupted by bacon and eggs…about this wedding of ours?"  
  
"I want to give you back our future, Liz. The one that I…or a future version of myself…took away from you. Do you remember when I asked you who would want to get married in Vegas anyway?" Liz nodded. Max reached over the small table and covered Liz's hands with his own.  
  
"I found the answer to that question, Liz. It's you and me. We were meant to get married in Las Vegas. So we will. Unless you don't want to?"  
  
Liz was silent for indeterminable moments. Max held his breath nervously, scanning Liz's face for some sign of her reaction. A smile began to creep across her face even as tears formed in the corners of her eyes.  
  
"Oh God, Max, I would love nothing more than to have my beautiful Las Vegas wedding and dance with you under the stars!"  
  
Liz pushed her chair back from the table and moved to sit on Max's lap. She leaned over him and tenderly kissed his forehead, then held his face between her hands and stared into his eyes.  
  
"I love you, Max Evans. More than yesterday and less than tomorrow. When do we leave?"  
  
Max kissed Liz gently on the lips.  
  
"School lets out in a couple of weeks. Can you wait till then?"  
  
"I think so, since I'm living with you anyway." Liz jumped off Max's lap, running to the phone in the bedroom. "I've got to tell Maria!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The final refrain of "I Shall Believe" by Sheryl Crow drifted out into the dark Nevada night. Max twirled Liz in a slow circle. For a heart-stopping second, Liz was afraid Max, like Future Max before him, would disappear. He didn't of course, and Liz smiled against his lips when he lowered his head to kiss her.  
  
Maria and Michael were stretched out on the hood of the Jetta, Maria's head lying on Michael's chest as she slept. Michael was lying awake staring at the distant stars and had been slowly stroking her hair in time with the music. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head as the song drew to an end.  
  
Isabel and Kyle sat talking in sleepy tones in the backseat of Max's convertible. Jesse, who had been skeptical of the elopement in first place but had reluctantly come along for Isabel's sake, was snoozing in the front seat. Isabel's glance wandered to Jesse periodically, but she was mostly focused on her conversation with Kyle.  
  
The music faded slowly away, and the CD player clicked off. Liz smiled up at Max, ecstatically happy and full of energy.  
  
"I guess that means it's time to go home, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, Liz. I think the wedding party's getting tired." Max tilted his head towards the others. Liz nodded. Max squeezed her hands, then raised his voice so that the others could hear him.  
  
"Anybody here want head back to Roswell?"  
  
Michael gently woke up Maria and they slid off the car. Isabel, Jesse, and Kyle climbed out of Max's convertible. Maria gave Liz a sleepy hug and then dropped into the front passenger seat of her car, wordlessly handing the keys to Michael. Michael and Kyle each shook Max's hand before heading over to the Jetta. Michael got in the driver's seat and Kyle slid into the back. Isabel threw her arms around her brother and her new sister-in-law in turn, then waited for Jesse to shake Max's hand and give Liz a quick hug before they made their way to their own car.  
  
Max and Liz watched the others drive off in silence, then Max squeezed Liz's hand and pulled her towards his convertible.  
  
"Are you happy, Mrs. Evans?"  
  
Liz smiled at the title.  
  
"Very happy, Mr. Evans." 


End file.
